1. Style
About.com
Weddings

Planning Wedding Receptions, Rehearsal Dinners, and Other Parties

From , former About.com Guide

Being engaged means a year (or more!) of party planning. From the engagement party to the wedding reception itself (and even after the reception), you'll become an expert in making them memorable, fun, and affordable. Here's my top advice.
  1. Wedding Reception Basics
  2. Menus and Caterers
  3. Wedding Cake
  4. Wedding Reception Music
  5. Wedding Flowers and Centerpieces
  6. Themes and Styles
  1. Rehearsal Dinners
  2. Bridal Showers
  3. Engagement Parties
  4. Day After Brunch
  5. Your Wedding Night

Wedding Reception Basics

Gotham Hall - NYC

Before you can get to the fun stuff like decorations, music, and food, you'll need to know a few wedding reception basics. Put together a timeline, figure out what style of wedding reception you want, consult your wedding budget and find a place to hold it.

Menus and Caterers

Food and drink are some of the most important parts of your wedding reception - after all if they're well fed and have a great cocktail, they're sure to have a good time.

Wedding Cake

http://charmcitycakes.com/

Wedding cakes are the grand finale to a reception - so shouldn't they be breathtaking? Here is advice on how to find a wedding cake baker and questions you should ask. If you're interested in making your own wedding cake, or making one for another family member, check out the step-by-step guide to making and decorating a wedding cake.

Wedding Reception Music

Music is the lifeblood of a successful party, and will do more than anything else to set the mood and tone of your wedding reception. But should you have a band or a dj? Or perhaps you should go the DIY route and use an iPod or other mp3 player. Here's advice on how to find the right wedding music for your reception.

Wedding Flowers and Centerpieces

Wedding flowers are one of the most important aspects of a reception. They bring color, life, and scent. They help make table settings more beautiful, and can transform a formerly dull space into a beautiful personality-filled one. Yet navigating wedding flowers (and finding a florist)can be confusing. It's also easy for them to be a budget breaker. Here's my best advice on wedding flowers and other centerpieces.

Themes and Styles

Here are the keys making your wedding your own, infusing it with personality and style.

Rehearsal Dinners

After you practice the steps of your ceremony, you'll be already gathered together with your wedding party - i.e. your closest friends and family. So it makes sense to celebrate and thank them with an intimate dinner.

Bridal Showers

A bridal shower is a way for your loved ones to help you prepare for your future life as a married lady. They'll shower you with well-wishes and presents, while you bask in their love.

Engagement Parties

An engagement party is the first chance you'll have to celebrate your future status as old married folks - and your first chance to set the tone for your wedding.

Day After Brunch

There's no reason the fun should end when the clock strikes midnight. Thank your out-of-town guests by providing them brunch and a way to continue the merriment.

Your Wedding Night

There's lots of cultural anticipation about a wedding night, but relatively few guides on how to prepare for it. I've compiled my best tips to help make it especially magical- no matter if you've been together for years, or have never been intimate together before that fated night.

©2013 About.com. All rights reserved.